A Mother's Love
by playwright82
Summary: Every parent goes through "empty nest syndrome" at some point in their lives. This is how two parents may react to their son leaving for school. This was written for the Hugs and Happiness Weekly Challenge.


**Disclaimer: I wish I was J.K. Rowling because it would make this gift so much more special. Alas, I am not she. The only payment I receive for this is making someone else happy.**

**A/N: This was written for the Happiness and Hugs Weekly Challenge: Lexen Love on HPFC. This story is dedicated to Lexen. I decided to use the pairing Lucius/Narcissa.**

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A Mother's Love

Narcissa Malfoy walked into her son's room at 11:03 am on September 1, 1991. She and her husband, Lucius, had just watched their son, Draco, get on the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She looked around the room which suddenly looked extremely large and empty. The bed was made, the toys were put away and the books were all on the shelves where they belonged. She was going to miss walking into the room to find her son playing with friends or reading in the chair in the corner.

Narcissa sat on the edge of Draco's bed and picked up the stuffed dragon that was sitting on the pillows. Draco had slept with the dragon every night since he was a baby. She put the dragon up to her nose, closed her eyes and inhaled. It had the unique sent that could only belong to her little boy. It brought tears to her eyes to think how long it would be before she could hold him again.

She remembered the day Draco was born, how scared and excited she was. At the time she had wished she was still in touch with her sister, Andromeda. Andromeda had already married and had a child at that point and would not have hesitated to help Narcissa with Draco. Andromeda had married a Muggle-born wizard and been disowned by the family, so Narcissa had to stop talking to her. She followed her family's wishes although she wasn't happy about it.

Thoughts of her older sister brought on a fresh wave of tears. She was sure Andromeda would be able to help her deal with this. Andromeda had been through it before.

Narcissa stayed in Draco's room, memories of him chasing each other through her head, until she fell asleep. Her husband had gone looking for her when dinner came and she never appeared at the table. Lucius stood in the doorway of his son's room and watched his wife sleeping in their son's bed, clutching his old stuffed dragon.

He realized she must have been doing the same thing he had been doing all day. Lucius had sat in his office thinking about when Draco had been younger and would sit in the office "helping" Lucius work. In actuality, Draco would be drawing or doing the work his tutor had assigned, but Lucius saw no harm in letting his son believe he was helping.

He smiled slightly before walking over to the bed and waking Narcissa. Lucius gently touched his wife's shoulder and said, "Sweet, wake up. It's dinner time. I'm afraid you fell asleep in our son's room."

She awoke and sat up to look around. Her tear filled eyes finally came to rest on her husband. "Oh, Lucius, I don't think I can face the dinner table without our son sitting there telling us about his day."

Lucius wrapped his arms around Narcissa as the tears started to run down her beautiful face. "I'm going to miss him too, but he's just an owl away if we want to talk to him." He tilted her face up to look into her clear blue eyes. "Just wait," he said with a slight smile on his face. "When he comes home for Christmas, we will have to get used to having him at the table with us again. If we're lucky we won't even have to re-teach him table manners."

Narcissa gave Lucius a watery smile. "Let us hope to be so lucky."

Lucius stood and offered his hand, helping Narcissa her to her feet when she took it. "How about tonight we take dinner in our chambers and spend the evening reminiscing about when Draco was little and talking about all the things we'll miss about him."

Narcissa smiled and started out of the room. Suddenly there was a tapping at the window. Lucius went and opened the window to let the majestic eagle owl into the room. He flew over to Narcissa, dropped a letter in her hands and flew back out. Narcissa opened the letter and read it.

_Dear Mother,_

_I seem to have forgotten Lubby. Please send him in a discreet package. I don't want the whole school to know about him._

_I met Harry Potter on the train. I tried to befriend him, but Ron Weasley beat me to it. I'm hoping I can still win him over, even though he was sorted into Gryffindor._

_I was sorted into Slytherin house like we all expected. I miss you and Father already. I can't wait for Christmas so that I can see you again. I will write again tomorrow._

_Your loving son,_

_Draco_

Narcissa grinned at Lucius and said, "My son still needs me."

He took the letter from her and read over it while she practically floated to their rooms. He smiled and shook his head. Lucius had already learned one thing his wife and son would come to find out; a son will always need his mother.

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**A/N: When I started this, I wanted to go in a different direction. Apparently, my muse decided to change the story without consulting me. I know this is sort of what my parents did when I left for college. I did email them during my first night away, so I took a little from my own experience. I think many parents act like this, although it may make Lucius and Narcissa OOC.**


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